SWIS 试验：基于学校的社会工作的实用群组随机对照试验方案。

The SWIS trial: Protocol of a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of school based social work.

机构信息

CASCADE, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales.

Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales.

出版信息

PLoS One. 2022 Jun 9;17(6):e0265354. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265354. eCollection 2022.

DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0265354

PMID:35679281

原文链接:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9182565/

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Child and family social workers in the UK work closely with other agencies including schools and the police, and typically they are based in local authority offices. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of placing social workers in schools (SWIS) on the need for social care interventions. SWIS was piloted in three local authorities in 2018-2020, and findings from a feasibility study of the pilots suggests SWIS may operate through three key pathways: (1) by enhancing schools' response to safeguarding issues, (2) through increased collaboration between social workers, school staff, and parents, and (3) by improving relationships between social workers and young people.

METHODS

The study is a two-arm pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial building on three feasibility studies which found SWIS to be promising. Social workers will work within secondary schools across local authorities in England. 280 mainstream secondary schools will be randomly allocated with a 1:1 ratio to SWIS or a comparison arm, which will be schools that continue as normal, without a social worker. The primary outcome will be the rate of Child Protection (Section 47) enquiries. Secondary outcomes will comprise rate of referrals to children's social care, rate of Child in Need (Section 17) assessments, days spent in care, and educational attendance and attainment. The study also includes an economic evaluation, and an implementation and process evaluation. Social care outcomes will be measured in July 2022, and educational outcomes will be measured in July 2023. Days in care will be measured at both time points.

DISCUSSION

Findings will explore the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of SWIS on the need for social care interventions. A final report will be published in January 2024.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study was registered retrospectively with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number registry on 13.11.2020 (ISRCTN90922032).

摘要

背景

英国的儿童和家庭社会工作者与包括学校和警方在内的其他机构密切合作，他们通常驻扎在地方当局办公室。本研究将评估在学校安置社会工作者（SWIS）对社会关怀干预需求的效果。SWIS 于 2018-2020 年在三个地方当局进行了试点，对试点可行性研究的结果表明，SWIS 可能通过三种关键途径运作：（1）增强学校对保障问题的反应能力，（2）通过加强社会工作者、学校工作人员和家长之间的合作，（3）改善社会工作者与年轻人之间的关系。

方法

本研究是一项两臂实用集群随机对照试验，建立在三项可行性研究的基础上，这些研究发现 SWIS 很有前途。社会工作者将在英格兰各地方当局的中学工作。280 所主流中学将被随机分配，比例为 1:1，分别为 SWIS 组或对照组，对照组为正常运作的学校，没有社会工作者。主要结果将是儿童保护（第 47 节）调查的发生率。次要结果将包括向儿童社会关怀机构的转介率、儿童需求（第 17 节）评估率、在护理中度过的天数，以及教育出勤率和成绩。该研究还包括经济评估和实施与过程评估。社会关怀结果将于 2022 年 7 月测量，教育结果将于 2023 年 7 月测量。在两个时间点都将测量护理天数。